I’ve been excited about this trip since I bought it back in March and after Election Day now is a good time to break away. My mom and I are traveling to Rome and she’s meeting me in New York at JFK from RDU. I Amtraked up and the ride was smooth, there were no issues. I grabbed food at Penn Station and meet her at the airport where we’re about to check-in for our flight. Given we’ve flown Norse before we know they’re a budget airline which is why our trusty Take Off bag is our go-to because that suitcase fits in the personal item box when you pop the wheels off. We’ve never had an issue before until tonight (but I’ll get into that later as a resolution for the issue is still pending)…

The flight was 7½ hours long nonstop and we slept a good portion of the way (and it was a full flight). We arrived around 1:30pm the next day in Rome (Italy is 6 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time). Because I didn’t know how quickly we’d get through the passport/customs area, I allowed us a few hours of time before we needed to catch the train to Perugia which would be over a 2hr ride total. We were hungry and scouted for something to eat. Not really wanting to stay in the airport, we however managed to find a place because leaving (Ubers are expensive and public transport would take too long but was cheap) would have us rushing to get back and we didn’t want to miss the train.

The food we had at Rossopomodoro at the airport was good especially my pizza which had a nice smoky taste. We were able to lounge and eat without having to rush and when the time came to get on the train we did. The 1st train was about 30 minutes and we transfered onto another. The ride was smooth but at times the train was moving so fast our ears popped. We arrived at our designated station about 24 minutes late (around 10:40 pm) but our Airbnb host was there to greet us and give us a ride to the house which we very much appreciated.

The house looked so nice on the inside just as pictured and Saverio (our host) helped us get acclimated. We sort of arranged for him to be our personal driver if needed and he agreed to take us to the meeting spot for our first activity tomorrow. After he left we ate, showered and went to bed because oh my goodness we had been traveling all day.

I woke up at 6:57am to see the sunrise over the lake Lago Trasimeno but it was foggy. Saverio said he’d be by to pick us up at 10:45am for our 11:30am Perugia: Traditional Umbrian Food Guided Walking Tour with Silvia. We got up and had breakfast (leftover pizza) outside on the veranda overlooking the lake and alps. Like clockwork Saverio came and dropped us off at the designated area and said he’d be back to pick us up at 6:15pm. Once we met up with Silvia, she explained that we would be making different stops to try different things.

Our first stop was at Antica Salumeria Granieri Amato where we got a pork sandwich which had a nice Italian seasoning with herbs stuffed in the middle. We found a gorgeous view to admire and sat and ate while Silvia gave us a bit of history where we were at. She explained that Perugia was known as the city of towers as at one point there were so many located throughout the city. The next place we went to was Mr. Norcy where we had a great charcuterie platter with meats, cheeses, bread, fig and tomatoes with red wine. (Pairing the cheese with fig was a good choice).

Next up was Locanda Del Bartoccio Cucina Tipica Umbra which was a restaurant where we had the pasta of the day (spaghetti pasta, sausage, cream sauce, mushrooms and truffles) as well as another recommended vegetarian pasta dish (cheese ravioli with tomato sauce and basil). Next up, was coffee at Sandri Pasticceria where we had a tiny macchiato and then we went to our final stop at Vannucci il Cioccolato and got a bar of milk chocolate (which was deliciousby the way). We thanked Silvia and went and explored a nearby museum called Collegio del Cambio.

The other activity we had for the day was just around the corner which was Perugia: Entry Ticket and Guided Tour of Perugia Underground. Although I requested the tour in English, our guide seemed to be unaware of that and gave us iPads to show the English translation while she spoke to the other group of 4 in Italian. We learned of the time frame of the Underground City, how water was captured, how it was built, why some of it got destroyed and rebuilt along with a few other facts.

After the tour we found a grocery store and bought a few items. By now the late afternoon was approaching and it was getting cooler (especially with the wind). I bought a cup of hot chocolate to get warn and we raced to get to Saverio by that time (and we made it). We ran into traffic going  back to the house and coordinated with Saverio about tomorrow’s activities. We came in and chatted for while, then ate some snacks. We have a busy day tomorrow with 3 activities.